Tuesday 11 May 2010

newspaper cuttings & eccentricity


one of my enduring memories of my grandfather, john william jurd, was of him walking down the pathway to our back door and slipping into the kitchen with a newspaper cutting for my dad to read. such bizarre behaviour saw me simultaneously dying of embarassment, even though there was nobody there to see, and wondering why on earth he would do such a thing.
you see, born in 1912 and the son of a preacher without a whole lot of money, grandpa was relatively uneducated so he took it upon himself to read widely. knowing that dad had less opportunity to read at that time it was a small act of service on his part to supply dad with articles of interest that he might have missed otherwise.
as i grew into an adult and most particularly a mother of young children i started to appreciate it when dad did the same thing for me. i still thought it was pretty eccentric, though.
as the internet rose in popularity dad would sometimes send me a link rather than bring me a cutting but the intent was the same.
then i met a man whose mother would send him links or forward emails and i started to think maybe there were other eccentric families around. (looking back it's all pretty obvious, any internet news and lots of other pages are accompanied by "send this to a friend" buttons)
just this saturday the process came full circle as i read an article about a reunion of holocaust survivors, originally russian jews, and considered sending the cutting to leah.
i had to laugh.

22 comments:

  1. I always like it when people suggest links and articles to me because quite often they're really interesting. Some days my head is spinning with all the new information I've accidentally come across. Such is the buried treasure of the internet.

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  2. i don't know how, but since i am partying on my 500th blog and then quitting blogging, i really don't have to learn to link do i ???

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  3. It is the very stuff of communication - transferring ideas, swapping views, exchanging interpretations. And the wonderful thing about the internet in general and blogging in particular, is that it does it so well.

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  4. My dad gives me articles every time I go over there.

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  5. Why eccentric? I do it all the time. Not lame emails and 'forward to a friend' stuff but funny stuff, interesting stuff . . I'm always emailing links and articles.

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  6. It's reassuring and comforting to find that John William and I are not the only people who are eccentric enough to give and receive newspaper clippings.

    Or send what may be interesting links. I've even forwarded the link address of this blog!

    WWW.engrish.com

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  7. WWW.aussiebee.com.au

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  8. Michael Duffy writing about bottled water in The Sydney Morning Herald

    www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/water-water-everywhere-and-no-one-stops-to-think/2007/08/10/118653062071.html

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  9. Fair enough comment Kylie --- I'm a nut!

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  10. Fair enough comment Kylie --- I'm a nut!

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  11. nick,
    theres a load of good stuff out there if you can find it.....


    putz,
    i cant believe you cant link! and are you REALLY quitting?


    alan,
    "transferring ideas, swapping views, exchanging interpretations"

    are some of my favourite things


    megan,
    thats three eccentric families :)


    baino,
    i dont think it's eccentric anymore but as a kid i found it very weird indeed. of course, it could be very common but unless i had an inside view of other families, how would i know?


    dad,
    i might have outgrown the embarassment over the clippings but you didnt outgrow the nuttiness!

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  12. i am so so sorry i insinuated you were not a tee totalerer>>>i , have including you in a sunday school sort of reaadership, and just assumed you were a little risquae and i wqas so wrong, you are also the sunday school type >>>lovely family, lovely kids, and i am sure you are their perfect example in all ways, and i am indeed truely soryy to if i offenedededed at all

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  13. p.s., i have changed my post for YOU, FOR YOU

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  14. putzy,
    i was not at all offended, just didnt want you to go spending your hard earned on hard liquor that wouldnt be drunk....

    and be careful about calling me a sunday school type, that could be insulting

    by the way putz, i'm honoured that you changed the post FOR ME. i mean, your journalistic integrity is at stake

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  15. I'm in good company, it seems. :)

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  16. You only considered doing it? I think it would be a wonderful way to show interest and affection.

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  17. snow,
    you are right, of course :)

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  18. "snow, you are right, of course :)"

    About everything always, you mean?

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